HISTORY OF SHORTHAND
Writing in
shorthand is a technique that has been used by dozens of cultures dating
back to Ancient Greece. The Chinese, Japanese and early Europeans also
used some form of shorthand to abbreviate words and letters.
But the two most prevalent systems to develop in the 19th century were Pittman and Gregg shorthand. Both these shorthand systems are phonetic - meaning they use symbols to represent the sounds that words make.
Pittman was first introduced in 1837 by Sir Isaac Pittman and Gregg shorthand was first published in 1888. Arguably the most popular of these two techniques was Pittman which was used all across the English speaking world.
The Pittman system of shorthand was continually changed over the years. In the modern world, both systems have been superseded by Timeline shorthand which is now the most widely accepted and up-to-date version of shorthand.
Timeline was invented by James Hill. He was a master of the Pittman style of shorthand but felt that for all but the brightest writers it was too difficult and took too long to learn. Many people felt that only extremely talented pupils with a gift for shorthand were able to fully understand the system. Even then, it could take three years of constant studying before they were competent.
Hill wanted to make learning shorthand easier and set about creating his own system that was not based on phonetics, but the actual letters in the words.
Teeline Shorthand finally came about in 1966 when Hill was asked to take over the journalists’ shorthand class at Clarendon College in Nottingham.
The results achieved during those early days were so impressive that Hill's unique system of Teeline that was growing in popularity by the day was recommended to the National Council for the Training of Journalists
Hill retired to devote his time to Teeline and with his wife, Constance, spent his final years tirelessly promoting the system.
Even after Hill's death, Constance continued his legacy and gave lectures and classes on Teeline shorthand. It is a testament to their early work that Teeline became so popular and is today set to become the main system of shorthand writing in the world.
But the two most prevalent systems to develop in the 19th century were Pittman and Gregg shorthand. Both these shorthand systems are phonetic - meaning they use symbols to represent the sounds that words make.
Pittman was first introduced in 1837 by Sir Isaac Pittman and Gregg shorthand was first published in 1888. Arguably the most popular of these two techniques was Pittman which was used all across the English speaking world.
The Pittman system of shorthand was continually changed over the years. In the modern world, both systems have been superseded by Timeline shorthand which is now the most widely accepted and up-to-date version of shorthand.
Timeline was invented by James Hill. He was a master of the Pittman style of shorthand but felt that for all but the brightest writers it was too difficult and took too long to learn. Many people felt that only extremely talented pupils with a gift for shorthand were able to fully understand the system. Even then, it could take three years of constant studying before they were competent.
Hill wanted to make learning shorthand easier and set about creating his own system that was not based on phonetics, but the actual letters in the words.
Teeline Shorthand finally came about in 1966 when Hill was asked to take over the journalists’ shorthand class at Clarendon College in Nottingham.
The results achieved during those early days were so impressive that Hill's unique system of Teeline that was growing in popularity by the day was recommended to the National Council for the Training of Journalists
Hill retired to devote his time to Teeline and with his wife, Constance, spent his final years tirelessly promoting the system.
Even after Hill's death, Constance continued his legacy and gave lectures and classes on Teeline shorthand. It is a testament to their early work that Teeline became so popular and is today set to become the main system of shorthand writing in the world.
One of Hill's most memorable quotes that he told pupils was: 'If you can
write, you can write Timeline'. The saying is as true today as it was 40
years ago.
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